From Architect to Jeweler: How I started Naturalesa at 40
In October 2022, I left behind my career as an architect, our home in Cluj, and more than a decade of work in green buildings, interior design, and sustainability. I moved to Valencia with my husband and our three little girls.
It wasn’t easy to let go of what I had built. But I knew I needed something to recharge my spirit.
The day I worked with fire
On my birthday in [year], a close friend gave me a two-hour workshop with a jeweler in Valencia. It was my first time working with fire, shaping a simple chain from brass rings. It was challenging, but the moment I saw the metal glow and yield to the flame, I was hooked.
From the dining table
I couldn’t stop. I filled notebooks with questions, spent sleepless nights watching tutorials, and practiced relentlessly. My dining table turned into a makeshift studio, and soon I was making pendants, earrings, and rings inspired by the textures and shapes of the Mediterranean coast.
What I loved most was finding the story inside each material: fossilized stones, weathered sea glass, recycled silver. I didn’t want to recreate what others had already mastered. I wanted to bring these materials to life with their imperfections and histories intact.
The people who helped
It wasn’t easy. Finding quality materials and mastering new techniques often felt overwhelming. What kept me going was encouragement from Antonio, the jeweler who first taught me, and a chance meeting with a local woman who gave me pearls and silver pieces from her own collection.
The leap that surprised me
I entered an international jewelry competition. I built a makeshift photo studio, photographed four pieces, and sent the application minutes before the deadline. Three of my designs were selected for exhibition at the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas in Madrid, and one at the Museo Cerralbo.
Naturalesa
That is how Naturalesa began: with a dining table, a lot of questions, and a bag of sea glass. Every piece is handcrafted from recycled materials, using traditional techniques, and shaped by the coast I now call home.
If you’d like to see where it led, explore the collections →
And thank you for being part of this story.